flared up
by snifflyfists314
Summary: (The Maze Runner AU) They've been on the run, and before they know it, one of their own is taken down in the worst way possible. Rated T for major character death. One-shot.


_**A/N: Posting this a day before Pull Me Close update, just cos I couldn't bear to wait to upload it heh**_

* * *

"Riles! Fark! Get the hell outta here!" Lucas screamed. The crank ran with a gait, dragging its limp left leg along with its uncoordinated body. He (he? Was it a male? Female? Lucas couldn't tell through the mess of veins and translucent skin) swung a bloody hand, attempting to grab hold of Lucas, but he ducked, dodging the crank. Maya, who was some distance away, shouted, "No way am I leaving you here, Huckleberry!"

Lucas tossed the baseball bat in his hand and delivered the final blow to the crank who was coming towards him. Hah, a baseball bat, there were better days when he would swing them. Except that was at a baseball in the last game of the season, and not a potentially deadly crank. He winked at Maya, hoping that she was looking and replied, "I never asked you to leave me, shortstack. Come over here, get ready to kick some real ass." Maya turned back to nod at Riley and Farkle, who were running up the stairs to the new safe house.

12 days. It had been 12 days since Lucas, Maya, Riley, and Farkle entered the scorch. They had been hiding from WICKED since they were toddlers, but recently, cranks had somehow burrowed their way into their home. Lucky for them, they were old enough to have already learned how to throw a punch or two. Their guardian, Andre, had rushed them away, sacrificing himself for the four of them. The least they could do now was continue to survive, find the next safehouse, repeat. Although the repetition, they could do without.

Lucas hooked his arms around Maya's and swung her around, her short but powerful legs swinging at all the cranks, knocking them unconscious. Their limp and flare-ridden bodies dropping to the ground one after the other, it was glorious. As Lucas gently lowered Maya to the ground, they stood there, surrounded by about a dozen cranks.

"Bam, that's how you do it. Get wrecked!" Maya shouted, pumping her fists in victory. Lucas chuckled, he would never admit it, but he had had a thing for Maya for some time. However, everyone around him, including Maya, had been pushing him closer to Riley, attempting to convince him that they were perfect for each other. But Lucas knew what he wanted. And his gut told him that the feelings were mutual, what with their continuous banters and nicknames and teamwork. They just fit, and he knew that.

Maya swung her arm over his shoulders, much higher than her head, and they began to walk towards Riley and Farkle. As Lucas took a step forward, a sharp pain rose up his leg and he felt the warm liquid oozing out of his shin. He looked down and saw the sharp fingernails of a crank digging into him. All he heard was Maya shout Riley's name, and then his, before everything turned sideways and the darkness took him.

* * *

"...some space."

Maya. It was her. He could hear her voice. Her beautiful voice.

He blinked a few times, the light entering his eyes, and the sight in front of him coming into focus. It was Maya, and another woman. He attempted to prop himself up and the woman helped him.

"Hello Lucas, how are you feeling? Maya told me a crank scratched you and you went out cold. But they said you're immune, so it'll just be a flesh wound, you'll be better in no time," the woman said, "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Delia, I run this safe house, and trust me when I say that no cranks will ever come up those stairs. You'll be safe as safe can be." Lucas grinned and turned around to face Riley, Farkle and Maya. They embraced him in a tight bear hug and that night, they told the rest of the safe house community the stories of how they managed to make it there. Honestly, it was a miracle that they had barely made it out of the previous safe house, an even bigger one that they got to Delia, with just a couple of cuts and bruises.

However, the next day, Lucas woke up with a piercing headache and an insane chest pain. Delia explained that it was probably just a side effect of the medication on the wound, and that it would clear up soon. But every day, Lucas would roll up his pants to check on the wound, and instead of closing up, the wound seemed to be… spreading.

Where it was just blood and flesh before, the purple tinge of veins were beginning to pop out, and pus was just by the edges of the cut. It scared him, but he would never tell any of the others. All he could do was persuade himself that it was just the medication. It was the medication. It was. Wasn't it? Before long, he had found that his mind was slowly slipping. His thoughts were messy and disturbing, he thought of flesh, he thought of meat and juice. He thought of how good Maya - stop it, you're mad - would taste. He knew what was coming for him. He knew what was happening. He knew what he was going to do about it, before he could hurt anyone.

* * *

Sadly, history had a way of beating them in the ass, even when they pleaded it not to. One morning, Maya woke up to the frantic shakes of Riley.

"Maya, we gotta go, now. Cranks."

Her eyes shot open and dilated. How could they have found the safe house so quickly? The better question was, how had they gotten past the stairs? Delia said-

"Maya! Now!" Riley's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She grabbed her backpack and ran out the door over to the boy's room, to find Farkle having some difficulty waking Lucas up. She dropped her bag on the floor and ran over. Over and over, she shook him, slapped him, called out to him, and eventually they opened. But something was wrong. They were completely bloodshot, the whites of his eyes painted the bloodiest red she had ever seen.

"Feeding time," was all he said. And as he opened his mouth, blood began to drip from his gums, and they were purple. Veins bulged all along his neck and arms. This was not something that happened over night, how had they not noticed it earlier? Oh, he had been wearing long sleeved shirts and pants, and he had barely spoken to them the past few days. Maya was caught up in her thoughts, and barely noticed Lucas was about to bite into her arm.

"Lucas! What the hell is going on with you? Come back to me Huckleberry!" Maya screamed into his ear. It miraculously worked. And he began to cry, but tried to speak, "Maya, you've gotta, you've gotta kill me. Before I kill you, before I become one of them."

"No way, no way, Lucas what are you talking about? Andre said… he said-" Maya began. It was obviously the flare that Lucas had, but how could it be, when they were immune?

"He said you guys were munies. He never said anything about me. Tell me Maya, do I look like I'm immune? Do I?"

Now, Lucas had stood up, and Maya knew that if he turned back into a crank, his towering figure would kill all three of them with ease. Out of the blue, he rotated his neck and a low growling sound came out of his mouth. Farkle stepped forward with his arm across Maya and Riley, ready to defend them if he needed to. They were his girls after all. Lucas began to advance towards them, one step at a time. The three of them backed into a corner, and they all began to scream Lucas' name. They had hoped the screams and shouts would have drawn Delia and the others over there, but all the adults were busy holding off the cranks so all the kids could get out. Unfortunately, they had their own crank on their hands, one they couldn't bear to kill.

Like prey. That was the only way to describe how Lucas was looking at them. Eyeing them. He ran his eyes over each of them, as if deciding which one had the most meat. His lips parted and he let out a growl and smirked. Maya didn't know why or how, but some part of her was getting strangely turned on. She whispered, "Lucas…", knowing that it wouldn't work, but hoping that some part of him was still the Lucas they knew. All of a sudden, it was as if Lucas had regained his sanity for a short moment.

"Kill me, please," Lucas pleaded, his voice cracking, before the madness returned to his eyes. Farkle whipped his gun and trained it on Lucas, the distance between them closing with every step he took. Maya took the gun from Farkle's hand and surprised, Farkle said, "Maya, what are you doing? I don't think we have a choice here."

"I know… it's just, he asked me to do it. Let me do it," Maya said. She nodded at Riley and Farkle and began walking towards Lucas. One step at a time, one hand holding the gun and the other motioning for Lucas to come slowly. There was that menacing growl again, and Maya realised that Lucas was really the mad dog he so desperately wanted to be called. Irony was a bitch. He stretched out his arms, as if wanting to strangle Maya and then proceed to feed on her.

"I'm sorry Lucas."

Bang.

His body crumpled to the ground, blood streaming out of the hole in his chest. He coughed, and blood spewed out of his already bloody mouth. Maya immediately dropped the gun and ran over to where he was lying down. She placed her hands over the wound in his chest, applying pressure to it and hoping with all her heart, if a miracle were to happen, let it be that Lucas would live. He coughed again and muttered, "Maya…" Riley and Farkle walked forward, looking down at Lucas, and Maya, who was desperately trying to save him. They knew that they had done what they had to, but they regretted it. Riley and Farkle crouched down next to Maya, looking at their friend who looked like he was halfway in his grave, way too young.

"Lucas! Lucas! No, stay with me, don't you dare… I shouldn't have, I shouldn't… Dammit Lucas! I swear, if you go…" Maya said. She was blaming herself for a request that Lucas had made. But she had pulled the trigger. She had caused his death. She knew that, but refused to acknowledge it. She had killed her best friend.

"Listen, Maya, you gotta take care of Riley and Farkle," Lucas began, but Maya was too busy wiping the blood off Lucas, tears streaming down her face. He held up one hand and tilted her chin up, looking right into her eyes. He wiped a tear from her cheeks and smiled, saying, "They need you. Now go"

"But-"

"Go!"

"Lucas, screw it, you're coming with me, you're coming with us, we're gonna… we'll do something, I'll do something about it, just come-" Maya was interrupted by Riley and Farkle who were pulling her away from him. She desperately grabbed onto Lucas' torn shirt, as if that was the only thing keeping him alive. He nodded at them, and they continued to pull her away, the thundering noise of cranks footsteps coming up from the other end of the room.

"Maya, just go… I love you," he said. And that was all he needed her to hear. He would never get to know if the feeling was mutual. He would never get to take her out on a date, where they could gaze at the stars. He would never get to look at her again. He would never get to kiss her, or have a family, it was too late for that. The last thing he saw was Maya looking at him, clambering to her feet and running off with Riley and Farkle, and her shouting his name, before the stampede of cranks brought him to the darkness.

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 _ **A/N: What do you think? I thought of it and just had to write it down, although my heart is like oaeicrynwoeycn rn ahahah, anyway, do check out my other stories, and if you tumblr, i'm simplymarvelling over there :)**_


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